Manufacture of button blanks from pearl stock



July 7, 1936. T. G. ROBINSON 2,046,437

MANUFACTURE OF BUTTON BLANKS FROM PEARL STOCK Filed June 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

J y 7, 936- T. G. ROBINSON 2,045,487

MANUFACTURE OF BUTTON BLANKS FROM PEARL STOCK Filed June 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M wwcmrawom aumqawwm 19 ATTORNEYS Patented July 7, 1936 entree sra'ras PATENT OFFiE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTON BLANKS FROM PEARL STOCK This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of button blanks from pearl stock and has for its object to increase the rate of production of such button blanks and at the same time to decrease the cost of production.

In the patent to Theodore G. Robinson, No. 1,493,283, issued May 6, 1924, there is shown and described a process and apparatus for making button blanks. from pearl stock wherein a charge of pearl stock is supplied to suitable cutters through the medium of grippers in which the pearl stock is contained. Such grippers'consist of fixed hooked fingers and movable comb-like keepers which hold the pearl stock against the fingers. The pearl stock consists of various length short cylinders, the end faces of which frequently have haphazard relation to the axis. When placing such pearl stock into the machine individually, the operator must exercise care to see that no blank is put in askew as otherwise there is danger that the machine may be damaged and that the stock in the grippers will not be properly held and the cutting operation will not be properly performed. Furthermore, the machine is capable of slicing more pearl stock than can be conveniently fed to it by an operator inserting individual pearl stock in the grippers, but with the present invention an operator can easily feed pearl stock to the machine to full capacity.

According to the present invention, a number of pieces of pearl stock are consolidated into a pencil in which the pieces of stock are longitudinally arranged end to'end. Such pencils are fed to the grippers and as the feeding of such a pencil to a gripper is a simple operation, an operator may easily feed the machine to full capacity. By maintaining an adequate supply of the pencils, .the cutting machine may be operated at full capacity.

It is to be understood that while the above-described pearl stock pencils are particularly adapted for use with the machine shown and described in the aforementioned Patent No. 1,493,283, the same can be used in connection with modified or other forms of pearl cutting means and the present invention is not limited to the particular machine and process described in said Letters Patent. The invention resides in the novel method and device hereinafter shown and claimed, but it is not to be considered as limited to the preferred form'shown and described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal view of a pencil formed of a plurality of pieces of pearl stock;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of such pencil;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view with the wrapper partially torn away;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modification; I

Fig. 5 is an elevation partially broken away of the gripper and cutter shaft; and

Fig. 6 is a side section of the same mechanism.

In connection with the invention herein described, the term pearl stock is used with the same meaning as is described on page '7 of Patent No. 1,493,283, beginning in line 36.

According to the present invention, a plurality of pieces of pearl stock obtained as described in said Patent No. 1,493,283 are arranged end to end in axial alinement in sufficient number to produce a pencil of desired length. The pieces In of pearl stock may be enclosed in suitable Wrapping material H or they may be connected together at their adjacent ends by suitable adhesive. In either event, there is formed a pencil 12 which is sufiiciently rigid that it may be handled as a unit and the pieces of pearl stock arranged in the gripper simultaneously in a single operation. The inner surface of the wrapper material may be coated with an adhesive material which when wetted will cause the longitudinally arranged pieces of pearl stock to stick to the wrapping material and'to thereby retain their position. The process of making the pencil is very simple as it is necessary merely to arrange pieces end to end and surround them with a wrapper provided with adhesive or to stick together the adjacent ends of the pieces. Such wrapper may consist of a strip of paper having on one side suitable adhesive material which becomes plastic when moistened, such paper strips being well-known for use in sealing packages. Such strip may be of slightly greater width than the circumference of the pearl stock and may be folded around the pearl stock with its edges in overlapping relation, the adhesive serving to fasten together the edges of the paper strip as well as to fasten the paper a strip to the pieces of pearl stock. In the paperwrapped pencil, the adjacent ends of the pearl stock may be joined together by suitable adhesive, if desired.

The self-sustaining pencil thus formed contains a large number of individual pieces of pearl stock which can be introduced into the grippers of the cutting machine simultaneously in a single operation, thus obviating the several necessary successive operations required to individually introduce the same number of pieces into the gripper.

In Figs. 5 and 6, a shaft l5 carries a plurality of cutters l6 suitably spaced by washers I! to cut blanks of desired thickness. The shaft I is rotated by suitable driving means (not shown). A second shaft l8 parallel to the shaft [5 carries a drum IS on which are rigidly supported a plurality of rows of hooked fingers 20 suitably slotted to receive the cutters l6. Underlying each row of V fingers is a plunger-comb 2i urged toward the fingers 20 by springs 22 and moved toward and away therefrom by cams (not shown). Means (not shown) are provided for rotating the shaft l8 to bring the rowsof grippers comprising the fingers and plunger-comb successively into operative relation to the cutters I6 and cams (not shown) are also provided for retracting the plunger-comb 2| when the grippers are vout of operative relation to the cutters. machine of which only a part is shown in Figs. 5

and 6 is fully illustrated and described in Patent The pencil I2 is laid as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 on the fingers 20 when a gripper is in feeding position approximately opposite the cutters in which position the plunger-comb 2| is retracted. The entire charge for the gripper is thus placed on a row of fingers with the pieces of pearl stock in hopper. The time required for an operator to place a pencil in a gripper is so short that a single attendant may feed pearl stock to the machine at full capacity. Also, if desired, automatic means may be used for feeding the pencils to the grippers.

The ends of the pearl stock may be joined together with an adhesive bond or cement which is similar in color and constituency to pearl and in such event, the spaces between the ends of i the pearl stock will be filled with material similar in color and constitution to pearl. Thus, button blanks may be obtained composed partly of pearl and partly of imitation pearl material from which buttons may be made which will be partly pearl and partly of imitation pearl. By this means, end portions of pearl stock can be recovered for use p which, under present conditions are completely wasted, the composite button blanks being obtained from such ends of the pearl stock. If desired, the ends of the pearl stock may first be ground down to an approximate right angle with the axis thereof so that the ends fit closely together, the ends being joined with the imitation pearl bond. With such a pencil, many of the end blanks would be composed of thin slabs from the adjacent ends of two pieces of pearl stock, one face of which would be completely pearl with imitation pearl material constituting the back or The complete middle portion of such blank. A pencil so con-.

structed is shown in Fig. 4. It is evident that the recovery of this otherwise waste material by such .by this invention the feeding of a pearl cutting machine is greatly expedited and such machine can easily be operated at full capacity by a single operator. The difllculty of introducing pieces'of pearl stock into the grippers increases with the shortness of such pieces and the present invention makes possible the practicaland economical utilization of the shortest pieces of pearl stock which otherwise could be reduced to blanks only with considerable difficulty.

I claim:

1. The method of producing button blanks from pearl stock which comprises arranging a plurality of pieces of pearl stock end to end in axial alinement, enclosing said pieces in a supportingsheath to form a pencil, feeding said pencil transversely and cutting the pencil transversely into button blanks.

2. The method of producing button blanks from pearl stock which comprises arranging'a plurality of pieces of pearl stock end to end in axial alinement, folding about said pearl stock a strip of sup porting material provided with adhesive for fastening the supporting material to the pearl stock thus forming a pencil; feeding said pencil transversely and cutting the pencil transversely into button blanks.

3. The method of producing button blanks from pearl stock which comprises arranging end to end in axial alinement' pieces of pearl stock, joining together the adjacent ends with adhesive to form a pencil, enclosing said pencil in a supporting sheath,'feeding said pencil transversely and cutting the pencil transversely into button blanks.

4. The method of producing button blanks from pearl stock which comprises arranging a plurality of pieces of pearl stock end to end in axial alinement, joining together with adhesive the adjacent ends of said pieces, folding about said pearl stock a strip of supporting material provided with adhesive for fastening the supporting material to the pearl stock thus forming a pencil, feeding said pencil transversely and cutting said pencil transversely into button blanks.

5. The method of producing button blanks from pearl stock which comprises arranging a plurality of cylindrical-pieces of pearl stock end to end in axial alinement, enclosing said pieces in a supporting sheath to form a pencil, feeding said pencil transversely and cutting said pencil transversely into button blanks.

' THEODORE G. ROBINSON.- 7 

